PHOTOS: Air Force C-17 With Humanitarian Aid for Gaza Lands in Egypt

PHOTOS: Air Force C-17 With Humanitarian Aid for Gaza Lands in Egypt

Nov. 28, 2023 | By Chris Gordon

A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III with humanitarian aid bound for Gaza landed in Egypt on Nov. 28, the U.S. government announced.

The flight is the first U.S. military aircraft sent to the Middle East to deliver aid for the beleaguered civilians in Gaza since the latest Israel-Hamas conflict that began Oct. 7, according to the Pentagon. U.S. officials say two more military aid flights are expected in the coming days.

The C-17 carried 54,000 pounds of aid on behalf of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the foreign humanitarian assistance arm of the American government, USAID said.

The new relief is “facilitated by the unique capabilities of the U.S. military,” a senior administration official told reporters.

According to publicly available flight tracking data, the C-17 that landed in Egypt on Nov. 28 is an Air Force Reserve aircraft that was operating as “REACH 202,” a typical Air Mobility Command callsign.

The aid includes “vitally needed medical supplies, warm clothing, and food and nutrition assistance to the people of Gaza,” Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder told reporters on Nov. 28. “This aid is in addition to the more than 500,000 pounds of food assistance delivered by the United States last week via USAID-contracted aircraft to El Arish, Egypt, for onward travel to Gaza.”

A temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hamas to free dozens of hostages captured by Hamas in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons “has also enabled a significant surge in additional humanitarian assistance to the innocent civilians who are suffering across the Gaza strip,” President Joe Biden said in a statement on Nov. 27. The U.S. military flights are a key step in the Biden administration’s efforts to increase humanitarian assistance.

“With 1.7 million people internally displaced and 2.2 million in need of humanitarian assistance, increased humanitarian supplies are essential to saving lives and alleviating suffering for the most vulnerable,” USAID said in a statement.

U.S. Air Force aerial port specialists load 24.5 metric tons of humanitarian aid destined for Gaza aboard a C-17 Globemaster III at an undisclosed airfield in the Middle East, Nov. 28, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jasmonet Holmes

The aid will be delivered via the United Nations from the Northern Sinai region of Egypt to Gaza, U.S. officials said.

“From the president on down, we understand that what is getting in is nowhere near enough for normal life in Gaza, and we will continue to push for additional steps, including the restoration of the flow of commercial goods, and additional basic services,” a senior administration official told reporters.

Around 800 truckloads of aid were to be delivered to Gaza during the first four days of the pause in fighting, U.S. officials said. The pause was extended another two days after it was originally due to expire on Nov. 28. Another senior administration official said “this level or increased levels” of humanitarian aid to Gaza is still needed after the current pause ends.

The Air Force has also used C-17s to deliver military aid to Israel since the conflict began.

Israel has made clear it intends to resume its war in Gaza to eliminate Hamas. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III “reiterated that humanitarian aid into Gaza must increase” in a Nov. 27 call to his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant, according to a readout from the Pentagon.

“Understanding the importance of protecting civilian lives, innocent civilian lives, while at the same time going after the terrorist group Hamas that inflicted pain and suffering not only on the Israeli people, but on the Palestinian people—that will continue to be a priority for us,” Ryder said.

Why the Air Force Wants a Geothermal Plant in Texas

Why the Air Force Wants a Geothermal Plant in Texas

Nov. 28, 2023 | By David Roza

The Air Force is taking steps towards starting a geothermal plant at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, as part of a larger effort to make the branch’s energy infrastructure more resilient and sustainable. If the effort is successful, it could pave the way for geothermal energy at other Air Force installations.

“If we can prove this works at JBSA, where it might not be the best base for geothermal potential, then we can make this work anywhere,” Lucinda Notestine, special projects division chief for the Air Force Office of Energy Assurance, said in a Nov. 20 press release.

The release comes about two months after the Air Force announced it had signed agreements to explore geothermal energy at JBSA and Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. The agreements were with the companies Eavor Inc. and Zanskar Geothermal & Minerals, Inc. for Texas and Idaho, respectively. The goal is to study and test the local potential for geothermal energy over the next two years, with “targeted commercial operations” starting in three to five years, according to the initial announcement.

Geothermal energy systems transmit heat found in rocks deep underground to the surface via fluid that moves through small pathways in the rocks. Once on the surface, steam from the fluid drives turbines that generate electricity and very little emissions. Unlike other renewable energy resources such as wind or solar, geothermal availability is not affected by changing weather. 

Geothermal resources are often found along major tectonic plate boundaries, but a report written earlier this year by researchers at five Texas universities showed that the state is abundant in geothermal power.

“The amount of heat energy beneath our feet is estimated to be many thousands of times larger than what we would need to power not only Texas, but the world,” researchers wrote. 

geothermal
Researchers in Texas wrote that the state is abundant with geothermal resources. (Screenshot via The University of Texas at Austin Energy Institute)

Though well-known for its oil and gas industry, Texas also has a long geothermal history. One fact sheet from Southern Methodist University pointed out that the state capitol was originally heated by geothermal water, and San Antonio once used 106-degree well water for a spa.

Still, it will take work to access that energy, namely drilling three or more miles down. Researchers found that most of the state is at or near minimum viable temperatures for conventional geothermal power generation at about 4 miles down, “a drilling depth typical in parts of the world within the oil and gas industry,” they wrote.

Nonstop supplies of environmentally sustainable power are an alluring option for the Air Force, which wants to make its power infrastructure more resilient and reduce its contributions to climate change. 

“We are in an era of strategic competition with China, which means that our installations are no longer a sanctuary from the full spectrum of threats,” Dr. Ravi Chaudhary, assistant secretary of the Air Force for energy, installations, and environment, said in a September release about the geothermal projects. “We need to ruggedize our installations with redundant energy systems and make use of clean energy sources that reduce our fuel demands.”

Indeed, recent conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine demonstrated to Air Force planners how reliance on fossil fuels can leave facilities vulnerable to blockades, spikes in gas prices, or attacks on host nation power grids. Meanwhile, Air Force bases are also increasingly affected by extreme heat, wildfires, flooding, and other severe weather events exacerbated by climate change.

Brig. Gen. Russell D. Driggers, commander of the 502nd Air Base Wing at JBSA, hopes geothermal can help on both fronts.

“With this pilot project, JBSA has an opportunity to spearhead innovations in clean energy and resilient infrastructure,” he said in the Nov. 20 release. “And, as the largest joint base in the Department of Defense, we must continue to think ahead and look for opportunities to implement diverse, resilient energy sources that reduce emissions, enhance security and allow us to operate sustainably for years to come.”

Driggers is not the only one thinking along those lines: one of the Air Force’s goals under its Climate Campaign Plan is to achieve 100 percent carbon pollution-free electricity on a net annual basis by fiscal year 2030, and 50 percent on a 24/7 basis. The plan pointed out the start of a geothermal pilot in partnership with the Defense Innovation Unit in 2022 as a promising step towards that goal. 

Chief Master Sergeant Promotion Rate Ticks Up to Seven-Year High

Chief Master Sergeant Promotion Rate Ticks Up to Seven-Year High

Nov. 28, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

The Air Force is promoting 22.5 percent of eligible senior master sergeants to chief master sergeant in 2023—the highest rate for E-9s in seven years. 

Some 506 Airmen were selected from a pool of 2,249 eligible candidates, the Air Force Personnel Center announced Nov. 28. The full list of selectees will be released Dec. 1,

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, promotion rates dipped to under 19 percent, as fewer Airmen elected to retire. Then last year, the promotion rate rebounded to just over 20 percent. All the while, the total number of promotions held relatively steady as the field of eligible Airmen was constrained. 

This year’s pool of 2,249 senior master sergeants was the smallest since 2018—and more than 500 fewer than in 2020 and 2021. That shift translated to a higher selection rate.

Enlisted promotion rates have been a source of intense interest in the past two years after the Air Force announced in July 2022 that it was expecting lower rates for some enlisted noncommissioned officers due to enlisted grade structure revisions and high retention. 

In particular, grades E-5 through E-7 have been hit hard—both the staff sergeant and the technical sergeant ranks saw their lowest promotion rates in 27 years in 2023, while the master sergeant rate bottomed out in 2022 and recovered only slightly in 2023. 

In contrast, prootion rates for the two most senior NCO ranks—senior master sergeant and chief master sergeant—have held steady.

The Air Force is also revamping its weighted Airman promotion system (WAPS), replacing the pencil-and-paper tests with a new digital solution in 2024 for E-5 and E-6 candidates. At the same time, USAF is also updating enlisted career development, introducing mandatory “Foundations Courses” that Airmen must attend at their duty stations in order to be eligible to attend more advanced resident courses, such as that Airmen must attend at their duty stations in order to be eligible to attend more advanced resident courses such as Airman Leadership School and the NCO and Senior NCO academies.

YEARSELECTEDELIGIBLEPROMOTION RATE
20235062,24922.50
20225142,52620.34
20215052,77518.19
20205182,76318.75
20195302,52920.96
20184792,24121.37
20174722,14222.04
20165312,22923.82
20155252,52120.83
20144792,52518.97
Data compiled by Air & Space Forces Magazine
How an Enterprise Portfolio Approach Improves Cost Efficiencies, Interoperability Across MAJCOMs

How an Enterprise Portfolio Approach Improves Cost Efficiencies, Interoperability Across MAJCOMs

Nov. 28, 2023 | By Patrick Reardon

Senior Air Force leaders have made a clarion call for improving Total Force readiness to prepare for potential conflict with the nation’s pacing threats. Most notably, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall is emphasizing readiness and mobilization as one of his seven operational imperatives, saying that “supporting [our forces] takes the collective success of a large number of information systems and supporting logistical and industrial infrastructure.”

HII Mission Technologies is presenting an enterprise portfolio solution to break down the operational and technical stovepipes between Air Force Major Command (MAJCOM) training architectures, an advantage that will unify critical infrastructure elements among distributed training systems across a standardized, global network—all while enabling the warfighter to train as they fight.

“Instead of each contractor building their own solution, a common set of solutions can tackle very similar challenges across different MAJCOMs,” said Michael Aldinger, HII Mission Technologies’ vice president of the U.S. Air Force LVC training and enterprise portfolio. “Enterprise does that. If you have a common set of tools everyone can access, all the MAJCOM contractor teams can work within a single architecture toward a common end-goal.”

Advantages of HII’s enterprise portfolio approach are reduced costs and greater interoperability with existing and future training capabilities—across all MAJCOMs. Condensing many similar interfaces and tool sets into a single architecture creates efficiency and reduces the budget requirement for technology deployment and ongoing maintenance.

“When we develop training, we want to build a single architecture for the entire training enterprise,” said John Bell, technical director of HII Mission Technologies’ Live, Virtual, Constructive (LVC) Solutions business group. “It’s a concept that we initiated with the Navy, under the Navy Continuous Training Environment (NCTE), which is now the single training environment for tactical training within the Navy. And the advantage of having a single enterprise for training is that we can develop common standards, common architectures and common tools that are shared across the entire enterprise.”

To make the enterprise portfolio a reality for the Air Force, Bell points to open-architecture standards and translation tools as the foundational elements for MAJCOMs to adopt.

“The approach that we recommend is adopting industry and government standards rather than adopting proprietary solutions and standards,” Bell said. “We also recommend integrating architecture tools. They’re used in common throughout the enterprise, so where training systems don’t fully adapt to those open-architecture standards, we have tools to help them integrate.”

A critical Air Force training program that embraces the enterprise, non-proprietary model is the Joint Simulation Environment. JSE is being integrated at the Virtual Training and Testing Center (VTTC) at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada and will be ready for the warfighter by 2028. The JSE provides a common simulated battlespace in a high-fidelity environment for warfighters in advanced fifth-generation simulators to train for the Night One fight. HII supports this effort with subject matter and software development expertise.

HII’s enterprise solutions are also making a tangible impact on Air Mobility Command’s aircrews under the Mobility Air Forces (MAF) Distributed Missions Operations (DMO) program. Since taking over as the DMO contractor in 2022, HII has provided MAF with enterprise training solutions that have resulted in record-breaking unit participation in AMC training programs and supported full-spectrum training exercises like Coalition Virtual Guardian. 

“It boils down to ‘Train as You Fight,’” Bell said. “We want to fight in a distributed environment with distributed forces, in partnership with our coalition partner nations and with all the services and agencies together. If we’re going to fight that way, we must train that way. We want to train people where they are deployed. We want to train them at their home station. We don’t want them to have to travel to a headquarters building and train together because that’s not how they fight.”

The journey from the proprietary-heavy approach of today to the Air Force enterprise approach of tomorrow will be an incremental process, Bell said. It begins with finding interoperable solutions and delivering them directly to the warfighter.

“We’ve decomposed the distributed training architecture into its many elements—governance, gateways, tools, cross-domain solutions and other aspects—and then worked with the U.S. Air Force to assess the potential value of a conversion to an enterprise approach,” Aldinger said. “What is the cost benefit? What is the training benefit? We continue to apply this approach to our programs at Wright-Patterson [Air Force Base in Ohio] to include Mobility Air Forces DMO and have achieved great results.”

Learn more about HII’s LVC and enterprise capabilities.

F-35 Updates: TR-3 Ramps Up, Talks on Future Lots Continue, Logistics Contract Stalls

F-35 Updates: TR-3 Ramps Up, Talks on Future Lots Continue, Logistics Contract Stalls

Nov. 27, 2023 | By John A. Tirpak

The first production F-35 in an early version of the Tech Refresh 3 configuration has flown at Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth, Texas, facilities, the company said. But while TR-3 testing continues, international F-35 partners are considering whether to accept jets with an immature version of the upgrade, government officials said.

Meanwhile, negotiations between Lockheed and the Joint Program Office on a contract for F-35 production lots 17-19 are still ongoing—but talks have broken down on a long-term Performance-Based Logistics contract that was expected to be inked this year. A shorter-term deal is being worked out.

Lockheed is now building TR-3-configured F-35s at Fort Worth, and the first one flew the week of Nov. 13, a company spokesperson said. The flight is part of the normal checkout process after one of the fighters comes out of the production plant. However, until formal testing of the TR-3 configuration is complete—now underway at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. and Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. and —Lockheed must store the newly-built F-35s.

Final acceptance flights, before the government takes ownership of the fighters, will begin on the newly-configured jet “when the software is approved for operational use,” a JPO spokesperson said.

More than 150 test flights with the TR-3 have been made, a Lockheed spokesperson said.

The TR-3 is largely a processor upgrade; the prerequisite for the Block 4 capability upgrade of the F-35, which comprises more than 80 improvements to its electronic warfare systems and weapons portfolio, displays, and other systems.

The JPO and Lockheed are working with the services and the international partners to see if they could “potentially” accept TR-3 aircraft in an early version that would be “operationally acceptable,” a JPO spokesperson said. This approach would “most likely require future software drops” en route to delivering capability that meets all requirements, he said. No such decision has been made yet, though, and pending such a decision, Lockheed will have to store the jets.

Lt. Gen. Michael Schmidt, the JPO director and F-35 program executive officer, said in September that he expected the TR-3 upgrade testing to be complete in early 2024.

Negotiations on F-35 production Lots 18-19 are still underway, according to Lockheed. A spokesperson said “we are actively engaged” with the JPO to deliver a “cost-competitive” fighter. Schmidt said in September that there is no time limit by which those discussions have to conclude, and he would not predict when the JPO and Lockheed would reach a “handshake” agreement. Schmidt said a host of items are under discussion, such as inflation, labor shortages and costs, and other issues.

Lockheed officials have predicted the next lots will not continue the downward trend in prices due to economic factors and supply chain issues.

Schmidt has said the Pentagon “has a budget, and we can only afford what we can negotiate.”

While Lots 18 and 19 will be contracted together, Lot 20 is potentially the first lot that can be bought as part of a multiyear deal, which groups lots together to take advantage of economic ordering of parts and materials. A multiyear deal can only happen, though, after the program passes Milestone C, which is the full-rate production decision.

That, in turn, is dependent on competition of Initial Operational Test and Evaluation, which has been held up for several years while the F-35 has been integrated with the Joint Simulation Environment; a wargaming tool that helps requirers find the right balance of aircraft and weapons for given wartime contingencies.

The negotiations on new lots is independent of negotiations on a new support contract for the F-35, and those talks have been halted for the time being.

Lockheed has been pushing a Performance-Based Logistics Contract approach to F-35 maintenance for a number of years, but the Pentagon and Congress have balked, wanting to see better and faster improvement in F-35 operating costs. A five-year PBL would give Lockheed both more responsibility and more predictability in ordering and managing parts, providing service materiel, and managing the global F-35 fleet. The arrangement would tie payments to long-term performance. The existing deal is a “pay as you go” arrangement, a government official said.

The 2022 National Defense Authorization Act mandates that the Secretary of Defense certify that a PBL “will reduce sustainment costs or increase readiness performance,” a DOD official said.

“Currently, the proposed PBL does not meet the certification requirements,” the official said. “The F-35 Joint Program Office and Lockheed Martin have agreed to extend” the existing 2023 sustainment contract through March of 2024 “and are working an additional extension through June 2024.”

The extension ensures “there will be no breaks in contractual coverage, while also providing more time for the JPO and [Lockheed Martin] to plan and negotiate long-term contractual coverage.”

A Lockheed spokesperson said the company is “focused on partnering to determine an alternate contract solution in lieu of the PBL to go into effect July 1, 2024.”

“We continue to view [PBL] contracting as the primary way to increase part availability, readiness, and affordability for the long-term as the F-35 fleet scales,” the spokesperson said.

While it is “disappointed” with the decision not to make a PBL agreement and halt talks for now, “we remain committed to partnering with our customers to deliver sustainment support, enabling mission readiness and deterrence,” the Lockheed spokesperson added, noting that PBLs are “a recognized best practice” of the Pentagon and have been used “successfully on many large-scale sustainment programs,” such as the F-22, MH-60, HIMARS and others.

F-15 Eagles Train with the Philippines Over South China Sea

F-15 Eagles Train with the Philippines Over South China Sea

Nov. 27, 2023 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

The U.S. and the Philippines conducted a three-day aerial exercise together last week, with fighters from both nations operating over the strategically vital South China Sea.

The joint drill ran from Nov. 21-23, with two U.S. F-15 Eagles flying alongside two Philippines Air Force FA-50s, a Pacific Air Forces spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

The aerial exercise was part of a larger ”maritime and aerial cooperation activity” between U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, according to a PACAF release.

The South China Sea is a hotly contested region—the People’s Republic of China claims sovereignty over much of the heavily-trafficked waters and has used what the U.S. and its allies call “coercive” and “aggressive” behavior to reinforce its claims.

U.S. forces, meanwhile, continue to operate in the region in accordance with international law, even as the Pentagon has noted an uptick in unsafe and unprofessional incidents by Chinese warplanes and ships.

“U.S. forces routinely operate with Allies and partners in defense of the rules-based international order and will continue to do so to maintain peace and stability in the region,” the PACAF release noted.

Two Philippine Air Force FA-50s fly alongside two U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagles over the South China Sea, Nov. 21, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Alexis Redin

The U.S. and the Philippines—which also has claims in the South China Sea—have tightened their alliance in recent months. In March, U.S. Air Force F-22s deployed to the Philippines for the first time ever, and in May, the two countries reintroduced the Cope Thunder aerial exercise after a 33-year hiatus.

More recently, on Nov. 6, the two countries marked the completion of the Basa Air Base runway upgrade, a project backed by a $24 million investment from Washington.

The upgraded 8,000-foot runway featuring reinforced pavement can now accommodate larger aircraft, such as cargo planes used by the Philippine Air Force.

It is expected that runway will also facilitate future U.S. aircraft operations, as part of the countries’ recently expanded Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

Basa Air Base, situated about 40 miles northwest of metro Manila, was constructed by the U.S. in the 1940s, prior to World War II.

On Nov. 15, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro Jr. met in Jakarta, emphasizing alliance modernization and the progress of the EDCA, including the newly finished Basa runway.

As an extension of the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus, the two Secretaries convened and reaffirmed their commitment to cultivating a transparent and peaceful Indo-Pacific region.

Austin also reiterated Washington’s commitment to defend the Philippines’ sovereignty in its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Beijing’s territorial claims of the South China Sea overlap with the Philippines’ EEZ, leading to tensions and disputes over maritime rights and resources.

In October, the U.S. expressed support for the Philippines against China’s Coast Guard and maritime militia, which obstructed a Philippine resupply mission in the South China Sea.

Austin and Teodoro Jr. also pledged to enhance bilateral operations, including the upcoming annual joint exercise dubbed ‘Balikatan’ (meaning “shoulder to shoulder”) in 2024.

This past April, the two nations hosted the largest-ever Balikatan exercise, involving 12,200 U.S. troops and 5,400 AFP personnel.

US, Allies’ Ships and Aircraft Thwart Pirates Despite Houthi Missile Attacks

US, Allies’ Ships and Aircraft Thwart Pirates Despite Houthi Missile Attacks

Nov. 27, 2023 | By Chris Gordon

A chaotic series of events in which two ballistic missiles were fired from Yemen toward an American destroyer began with an apparently unrelated act of Somali piracy, the Pentagon said Nov 27.

The disclosure adds a new twist to an increasingly complex security situation in the Middle East despite a temporary truce in the Israel-Hamas war. 

“Clearly a piracy-related incident,” Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder told reporters.

The episode began when the crew of the merchant vessel Central Park, a tanker owned by an Israeli businessman, put out a distress call that it was under attack Nov. 26. 

The USS Mason, a guided missile destroyer which was operating in the Gulf of Aden, heeded the alert. A team from the USS Mason embarked on a small boat, rushed toward the commercial ship, and captured five suspected pirates.

The U.S. personnel fired warning shots as the attackers tried to escape, but there was no return fire and nobody was injured.

“We’re continuing to assess, but initial indications are that these five individuals are Somali,” Ryder said.

USS Mason small boat
U.S. Navy Sailors participate in a small boat training evolution alongside the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mason (DDG 87) July 3, 2023. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Kaitlin Watt

In a statement released Nov. 26, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said “associated aircraft” were also involved, but Ryder declined to identify the type or number of aircraft.

“It was allied ships and aircraft that responded to this,” he said.

That, however, was not the end of the story. 

Around an hour and 40 minutes later, Houthi rebels in Yemen fired two ballistic missiles toward the USS Mason and Central Park in the early morning hours of Nov. 27 local time.

The Iran-backed Houthis had seized an Israeli-linked commercial vessel earlier this month in the Red Sea, shot down a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 drone on Nov. 8 and launched ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones toward Israel.

In this case, U.S. officials say the Houthis may simply have seized the opportunity to join the fray. 

“It’s not clear to us who they were targeting exactly,” Ryder said.

The Mason’s crew tracked the missiles but decided they did not need to take action since the projectiles landed roughly 10 miles from the Mason and the Central Park, the U.S. military said.

“They landed harmlessly in the water,” Ryder said.

The U.S. wasn’t the only nation on the scene according to the Pentagon. Three vessels from China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy were also near the Central Park when it made its distress calls, Ryder said. A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said they could not immediately comment on the incident.

“Supposedly, those ships are there as part of a counter-piracy mission,” Ryder said of the Chinese vessels. “But they did not respond.”

Security Forces Airmen Train on ‘Game-Changer’ Drone That Could Compete for Replicator

Security Forces Airmen Train on ‘Game-Changer’ Drone That Could Compete for Replicator

Nov. 27, 2023 | By David Roza

Eight enlisted Airmen recently became the first Air National Guardsmen to train on a new drone which could boost security forces operations at home and abroad. Earlier this month, members of the Minnesota Air National Guard’s 133rd Security Forces Squadron learned to fly and operate the Skydio X2D, a quadcopter equipped with 4K cameras, night vision, a thermal sensor, and artificial intelligence that keeps the drone aloft so that operators can focus on gathering information.

“This is a game-changer; it’s a force multiplier in itself,” Tech Sgt. Brandon Trout, drone program manager for the 133rd Security Forces Squadron, said in a press release about the training. Trout explained that the drone can serve as a policing tool, giving defenders a complete view of a target building, creating 3D models of it, and tracking anyone who leaves.

“If an individual comes out of the building, I can tag that individual, and then the drone will follow him,” he said. “I don’t need to be on the ground chasing him. I can now get in my vehicle and follow him, and it will tell me exactly where he’s going. What this thing is doing is it’s adding the new AI technology into how our squadron operates.”

security forces drone
The 133rd Security Forces Squadron completed initial training for the Skydio X2D Drone at Camp Ripley Training Center in Little Falls, Minnesota, on 13th through the 15th of November 2023.(Minnesota Army National Guard Photo by Sgt. Jorden Newbanks).

Over the course of three days at Minnesota’s Camp Ripley Training Center, the eight Airmen learned how to use these and other capabilities on the X2D, which can be controlled from a handheld computer. The drone can fly up to 35 minutes and has a 10-kilometer range, but Skydio marketing materials focus on the aircraft’s brains. According to the company website, a predictive AI algorithm keeps the drone flying, avoids running into obstacles, and automatically charts the safest way back to the operator. 

“I think that when people think of drones, they think of cheap remote-controlled drones,” Trout said in the release. “That’s not true at all. These things are way more elaborate and complex than you could ever imagine.”

Better reconnaissance could help security forces Airmen, who double as base police and combat infantry in order to keep bases safe and secure. 

“[T]his drone completely changes every single thing that we do,” Trout said. “Whether it’s domestic response, hurricane relief, infantry training, active shooters, all the way to the nuclear side of operations.”

Over the past several years, security forces Airmen around the world have tried using drones to better monitor installations. They also are experimenting with various counter-drone systems and practicing how to treat casualties after enemy drone attacks. 

security forces drone
The 133rd Security Forces Squadron completed initial training for the Skydio X2D Drone at Camp Ripley Training Center in Little Falls, Minnesota, on 13th through the 15th of November, 2023. Minnesota Army National Guard Photo by Sgt. Jorden Newbanks

The X2D is just about two feet long, but big changes are on the horizon for military drones in general. On Nov. 21, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks told reporters that the Department of Defense will select candidates for its Replicator initiative in December. The initiative is an effort to buy thousands of relatively inexpensive, autonomous drones in 18 to 24 months to make the military better prepared for a possible conflict with China.

“Replicator is meant to help us overcome the [People’s Republic of China]’s biggest advantage, which is mass: more ships, more missiles, more people,“ Hicks said when she first announced the initiative in August. “We’ll counter the PLA’s mass with mass of our own, but ours will be harder to plan for, harder to hit, and harder to beat.”

The candidates may not necessarily be announced next month, but Skydio, the company that makes the X2D, hopes its autonomous capabilities and resilience to cyber or electronic warfare threats will help put it on the list.

“The concept of ‘affordable mass’ has received a lot of attention as of late; smart drones are required for effective affordable mass,” W. Mark Valentine, President of Global Government at Skydio, said in a September commentary on Replicator.

Trout, the drone program manager in Minnesota, is ready for the change.

“This drone can do things that humans can’t physically do,” he said in the release. “So, we’re taking that strategic plan of integrating new technology in the Air Force, and we’re here today to implement it.”

How These Guardians Avoid Satellite Collisions At 17,000 Miles Per Hour

How These Guardians Avoid Satellite Collisions At 17,000 Miles Per Hour

Nov. 22, 2023 | By David Roza

There are tens of thousands of manmade objects in space, many of which are moving in low earth orbit at more than 17,000 miles per hour. If any collide, they could disrupt vital communications, navigation, and scientific satellites that millions of people rely on every day. That’s why the Space Force’s 18th Space Defense Squadron (SDS) has its eyes on the sky, tracking objects overhead and identifying possible collision risks so that satellite operators can adjust orbit and avoid a run-in.

“Just like a pileup on a busy racetrack, space debris could collide into other satellites, disrupting critical communication, navigation, and weather forecasting services,” Space Operations Command noted in a recent press release highlighting the squadron. “Acting as the lighthouse of space, 18th SDS is responsible for monitoring and tracking all artificial objects in Earth’s orbit to ensure the safety of our satellites, astronauts, and space exploration endeavors.”

From its headquarters at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., the 18th SDS uses the U.S. Space Surveillance Network (SSN) to track more than 45,000 objects in orbit. The worldwide network includes ground-based sensors such as the Ground-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance System, which takes rapid digital photos of the night sky where satellites show up as tiny streaks. Computers then measure the streaks to calculate the satellites’ position, according to the Space Force website.

space debris
The 18th Space Defense Squadron plays a crucial role in monitoring and tracking all artificial objects in Earth’s orbit to ensure the safety of satellites, astronauts, and space exploration endeavors. (Photo courtesy of NASA.gov)

Other ground-based legs of the SSN include the AN/FPS-85 and AN/FYS-3 Phased Array Radars, which can track hundreds of targets simultaneously; and ‘Space Fence,’ an array system in the Marshall Islands that broadcasts constant bands of energy and tracks objects that pass through it. There are also on-orbit platforms such as the Space-Based Space Surveillance satellite, which can track objects year-round above earthly obstructions such as weather and daylight. 

There are several other dedicated, collateral, and auxiliary sensors that make up the SSN, which has to keep pace with an ever-growing number of space objects. The 18th SDS uses data from the SSN to update Space-Track.org, a public catalog of objects in Earth orbit. The 18 SDS also works with its sister squadron, the 19th SDS, to predict where satellites are headed and prevent collisions.

In a crowded place like low Earth orbit, unexpected satellite fragments can ramp up the risk of a disastrous collision. There are four kinds of fragmentation events, the recent press release explained. Anomalous debris-causing events occur when corrosion, fatigue, or similar factors lead to fragments spreading at relatively low speeds close to the original satellite’s orbit. In contrast, breakup events generate large amounts of debris that spread quickly over a wide area. 

Breakups can be unintentional, such as when volatile chemicals in a satellite fuel tank explode, or intentional, like when countries launch anti-satellite missile tests that generate thousands of pieces of debris. The debris cloud from a 2021 Russian anti-satellite test still threatens people and satellites in orbit today. 

Collisions are a third category of fragmentation event. One example is when a Russian military satellite collided with a commercial Iridium satellite in 2009, generating a large debris cloud and prompting the start of U.S. Space Command’s Space Situational Awareness Sharing Program. The fourth category of event is mission-related, where fragmentation includes a payload deployed from a larger satellite or unintentional separation of non-payload components.

space debris
The Ground-based Electrical Optical Deep Space Surveillance facility, or GEODSS, is operated by the 15th Space Surveillance Squadron, Detachment 1, at the White Sands Missile Range, N.M. (U.S Space Force photo by Airman 1st Class Kaitlin Castillo)

Members of the 18th SDS keep an eye out for changes in orbital parameters, which can indicate if a satellite is releasing gas or undergoing structural stress and can foreshadow possible fragmentation, the press release explained. The Guardians use specialized software to track satellite trajectories or, in the case of fragmentation, figure out where debris came from, what caused it, and where it’s going. The next step is to warn affected satellite operators so they can adjust accordingly.

Despite the 18th SDS’ vast observation and computation abilities, there are still more than a million objects under 10 cm that are too small to track but which can pose a major collision threat in orbit. Maneuvering to avoid collisions uses up fuel and shortens satellite lifespans, but mitigating the threat is a problem that one Space Force squadron alone can’t solve. 

Indeed, earlier this year, the research group RAND called for an international space traffic management system (STM) that would help operators better coordinate, communicate, and adjudicate traffic challenges. Today, management of space objects is “an informal, ad hoc, and often ill-coordinated process” that is “approaching a tipping point,” wrote RAND researchers, which noted that more than a dozen major conferences, reports, and papers have called for a STM over the past 40 years.

“Rather than wait for a crisis to catalyze action, the space community should seize the moment and begin the work of building the governance structures needed to ensure the safety and sustainability of critical space assets, services, and activities,” researchers wrote.

Until then, the 18th SDS is hard at work tracking thousands of objects and helping operators “safely navigate the orbital racetrack,” the press release said.